Calculated Commencement Date within Order Entry

When building a works order you can enter a required date for which the build must be completed.This new facility allows you to create a commencement date that the works order must begin processing by to meet this required date based on the lead time of the stock item. This calculation can also skip weekends and bank holidays when calculating the commencement date.

During works order entry the system takes the entered required date and then calculates the commencement date based on the lead time (assumed to be in days) recorded on the stock record. The start date, if not set to be view-only, can be amended as required but system will warn if changed date would mean that you would not meet the required date.

Installation

Database Changes

A new data item is required on the Works Order Header file to allow recording of the commencement / start date. To add this new item select Installation from the main menu followed by Application Manager and then Restructure A Database. Select the Bill of Materials application.Elect to update the Live Filesand then select the Works Order Header File. The existing data items are then displayed on screen, scroll-down to the next available blank entries and create the following items: File, Item, Name, Type, Description

 WOH START-DATE D / E Date item to record the commencement date for the works order.

To insert a new item press <Enter> against a blank entry, enter the title as required and press <Enter>, select the item type (using the drop-down list if required), and depending on item type select the size required.

Once the additional item has been recorded press the <ESC> key and select the UPDATEbutton to save the database changes.When prompted respond ‘Y’ to the prompts to ‘Extract Existing Data to New Database Structure’ and, if appropriate, ‘Copy Table Entries from Old Database to New Database’. Final prompts ask to ‘Remove (.OLD) Database’ and to ‘Carry Out the Same Restructure on the BASE File as Well’ – respond as required.If you select to update the base file you need to manually insert the new items at the same data item positions as on the live file.

Database Profiles

The new data item needs to be referenced within the Database Profiles. To update these settings select Installation from the main menu followed by Application Manager and Set Database Profiles. Choose the Bill of Materials application as required before selecting the Header Optional 1 parameter screen.

On the left of the screen is the prompt Start Date – against this item reference the data item number of the equivalent item created above, <F4-Select> is available if required.

Application Screen Layouts

The Works Order entry screens need to be updated to display the start date. To update the screen layout(s) users can sign on as the SYSTEM user-id (or if Premier any user with Installer rights) and right-click on the Enter Works Orders menu option before selecting Configure Option action and then the Enter New Order Header Screen. Alternatively users can select the Installation option from the main menu followed by Application Manager and then Application User Facilities. Select the Bill of Materials application before selecting Enter/Amend Orders and then Enter New Order Header Screen.

To insert the commencement date you’ll first need to add a text label of ‘Work to Commence’ (or similar), to do this use the mouse to position the cursor where required and then type the required text. To insert the data items position the cursor where required and press the <F4-Select> key and choose the date item required. Set whether items are view-only, mandatory or require uppercase input as required.

Once complete choose File and then Save & Exit. Before exiting completely review the Update Order Header Screenoption, if this is set to use the same screen as Add then changes are complete, if not then you will need to duplicate the above change(s) as required.

C29DATES.TXT

To skip weekends and bank holidays the system uses the C29DATES.TXT working file which records working hours, flags for whether you omit weekend days and up to fifteen dates to be skipped (bank holidays). The Text file can be created/maintained with any text editor (i.e. Notepad/Wordpad), is held in the DFCOMP location (usually \DFWIN\DATA), and is a fixed format file and is structured so that:

Line 1 Y/N flag to Omit Saturdays

Line 2 Y/N flag to Omit Sundays

Line 3 Start Time for working day

Line 4 End Time for working day

Lines 5-19 Dates to be excluded / bank holidays etc. Note record date as XX/XX/XX to

complete all lines

An example text file would then be:

Y

Y

0900

1730

03/01/11
22/04/11
25/04/11

29/04/11
02/05/11
30/05/11
29/06/11
26/12/11
27/12/11

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

If save this file in the DFCOMP location then when calculating the start date for the works order the system will skip weekends and bank holidays where appropriate. If no text file is found then the system will perform a basic calculation when setting the start date.